Tag Archives: health wellness

The steps to making positive changes in your life can be simple to recognize, but difficult to put into practice. With time, planning, and willpower, you can make the changes you want to better your life.

Whether you want to reduce stress, lose weight, sleep more, or create a wellness routine, these tips can help you achieve your health and wellness goals.

Set attainable goals: While your goals should push you out of your comfort zone, they shouldn’t be so far-fetched that you feel overwhelmed or anxious. Set specific goals that you feel confident achieving. For example, if, overall, you want to lose weight, set small goals each week such as working out at least 30 minutes a day or eating more vegetables for your snacks. Looking to increase your strength and balance? We offer a wide variety of fitness therapy products that can help you get off to the right start through simple, easy-to-do exercises. Small victories will help you reach your main goal while keeping you motivated to continue.

Make it personal: No two people are the same. Set goals that are relevant to you and your lifestyle. There is also a higher chance of achieving your goals when you make them for yourself and not for someone else in your life. Create a health and wellness routine that will better your life because you want it for yourself.

Find support: In today’s connected world, it is easier than ever to find others who share your goals. Reach out to friends, family members, or online communities to create accountability. Having like-minded individuals around you will help you achieve your goals.

Sleep better, feel better: When it comes to your health and wellness, sleep plays a vital role in improving your mental and physical health, from decreasing stress and fatigue to improving blood pressure and stamina. Our Tempur-Pedic mattresses help reduce the number of pressure points on your body, so tossing and turning can be a thing of the past. Looking for a pillow? We offer the best ergonomic pillows for side-sleepers, back-sleepers, or stomach sleepers so you can feel comfortable and stress-free whenever you rest.

Establish realistic timelines: Take it slow. Success will not happen overnight. Nevertheless, having an endpoint helps you stay motivated as you work towards a deadline while also giving you a chance to reflect on how far you have come in your journey. Whether bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals, write down your personal deadlines and check in with yourself when you reach those dates.

Be persistent: There is a chance you may “fall off the wagon.” Be easy on yourself if, and when, this happens. It’s part of the process. If you stray off course from your goals, use that as a learning experience. Think about why you fell back into a bad habit and what you can do in the future to prevent a lapse from happening again. Eventually, your new healthy habits will come naturally.

To learn more about how you can achieve your health and wellness goals, visit your local Relax The Back store to speak with our trained specialists to learn about products and solutions that will help you live your best life.

Can a calm mind lead to a healthier heart? In addition to reduced anxiety, increased focus, and a boost in overall happiness, meditation and mindfulness can also have a positive impact on your heart health. According to a recent scientific statement by the Journal of the American Heart Association, the mind-calming practice of meditation may help reduce your risk of heart disease.

Having a consistent meditation practice can help you cope with stress, help you relax, calm your mind, and improve your heart health. Through reviewing dozens of studies performed over the last two decades, researchers found meditation has helped with a number of factors linked with heart disease including lower blood pressure and lower stress levels. One study showed 15-minutes of meditation a day reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death by 48 percent.

As with any new practice, it may take time to find a routine that works for you. Set aside 5-minutes just a few times a week for meditation, then gradually increase the time and frequency until you’re comfortable with daily sessions up to 15-minutes.

Meditation techniques to try:

Moving meditation: Yoga and tai chi are popular forms of moving meditations that emphasize slow movements, controlled breathing, and mental focus. Check out a local studio or pick a yoga routine on sites like Gaia or Youtube that can be done at home.

Seated meditation: Sit quietly in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and begin to breathe slowly. Beginning with your feet and working up towards your shoulders, focus on each group of muscles and relax them with each breath. Once you’ve reached your shoulders, roll your neck gently from side to side. Focus on your breathing throughout this process. When your mind begins to wander, which can happen, do not feel discouraged. Simply bring your focus back to your inhales and exhales. Continue for 5 to 10 minutes.

Guided meditation: Listening to a soothing, directive voice allows you to focus on the present while relaxing body and mind. Apps like Headspace and numerous sites online allow for guided meditation anytime, anywhere.

There is no “right” way to meditate. Try different techniques to find one that works best for you. If you are looking for more ways to reduce stress, visit your local Relax The Back location to speak with our trained associates. They can recommend a number of product solutions that can help you reduce stress, feel better, and live a healthier, more fulfilling life.

If you have ever gotten a massage before, then you are familiar with the post-massage feelings of satisfaction, clear mind, and relaxed body. While these are great benefits of massage therapy, there are many more that go well beyond relaxation.

Getting regular massages can be life altering. Studies continue to show that maintaining a regular massage routine can have a tremendously positive impact on your overall health and wellness.

Be your best physically, mentally, and emotionally with these benefits:

Relieve pain: Massage therapy can also be just as or more effective than medication and acupuncture treatments. By relaxing tense muscles, our massage products can alleviate back, neck, and all-around muscle pain.

Now, imagine coming home to your own personal masseuse. We understand it can be difficult to find time to visit a massage therapist. Having a massage chair in your home allows you to indulge whenever you want. From Swedish to Shiatsu to traditional style massages, you can have personalized comfort and relaxation when you need it most. All it takes is a few minutes a day to feel the immense benefits. Quiet your mind. Soothe your body. Feel blissful comfort in your own home.

While the reasons for getting a massage can vary from medical reasons, to relaxation, to a special indulgence while on vacation, incorporating regular massages into your health regimen has a positive impact on your health and wellbeing.

Visit your local Relax The Back location to test out our massage chairs first hand. We will help you find the perfect chair to meet your specific needs. Ask our associates about our 48-month financing options on select massage chairs.

Ten percent of Americans suffer from depression with the numbers to rise drastically by 2020. Hectic, high-stress lifestyles and difficulty finding the proper work-life balance contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety.

Maintaining a workout routine, as well as a healthy diet, can affect your mood greatly. While therapy and antidepressants can help, the American Psychiatric Association recommends exercise as a form of treatment. Exercise is proven to be effective alone or when combined with standard treatment options.

There are plenty of simple and easy exercises that you can do on a daily basis without causing too much strain on your neck and back. If you’re looking to increase strength, balance, or muscle tone, Relax The Back has a wide variety of fitness therapy products to help you get on the right track. One of these products is our therapy foam roller, which enhances balance, body awareness, neural and muscular flexibility, dynamic strengthening, and even assists with muscle re-education.

To learn more about how the benefits of daily exercise, this helpful infographic from Cleveland Clinic dives into how exercises affect our mood and details the reasons why you should find an activity you truly enjoy to help keep you active and healthy.

Whether you’re packing your bags to head somewhere by plane, or dealing with long commutes from the office to your home, pain can make travel times even more unbearable. Sitting for prolonged hours in a car or a plane can cause back and neck pain to flare up. Our bodies absorb the shock of vibrations, swaying from side to side, accelerations, and other forcers associated with driving or flying.

Fortunately, there are a number of massage products that are perfect for traveling and commuting. Massage therapy helps to relieve tension and discomfort before, during, and after your commute.

Massage On The Road

Ease the pain of a long commute or trip with these massage products.

Theracane: The perfect handheld massage tool when you’re on the go. Relieve pain and stiffness as you control the pressure to massage deep into tense muscles and knots.

Cohen’s Heatable AcuBack Kit: Release tight muscles and joints in your neck and back with this simple, heatable support tool. The AcuBack Kit also helps create effortless upright posture while driving or sitting.

If you experience pain while traveling or commuting, visit your local Relax The Back store to speak with a trained specialists. They will help you find product solutions to massage away pain and discomfort while making you more comfortable during your commute.